JAMA Network: The Cochrane Collaboration Turns 20 Assessing the Evidence to Inform Clinical Care

The Cochrane Collaboration Turns 20



"....In 2010, through dogged determination, Gøtzsche and his colleagues obtained access to unpublished trials and protocols from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for the purpose of including these unpublished data in their systematic reviews. The EMA has recommended that the US Food and Drug Administration and other drug regulatory agencies also provide such access, he said."

Medical News and Perspectives | May 08, 2013

M. J. Friedrich

"About 2 decades ago, a group of dedicated researchers set out to help clinicians make well-informed decisions for patient care based on the best available evidence. These early members of the Cochrane Collaboration, an international not-for-profit organization that celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, started the daunting task of compiling and analyzing the thousands of studies that come out annually in the medical literature.

Since that time, this pioneering cadre has grown into an international network of more than 28 000 people from more than 100 countries who sort through the relevant randomized clinical trials (RCTs) of health care interventions. Following a well-defined process and research methodology to minimize bias, the reviewers synthesize the results into digestible systematic reviews in every area of clinical care.......